AWS Access Key Rotation

Severity: medium
Compliance: CIS 1.4
Tags: AWS, Identity & Access Management, Credential Access:Unsecured Credentials
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_access-keys.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

This policy validates that AWS IAM account access keys are rotated every 90 days. Rotating access keys will reduce the window of opportunity for an access key that is associated with a compromised or terminated account to be used.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Credential Access	`T1552` Unsecured Credentials

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: policy
Filename: aws_access_key_rotation.py
PolicyID: "AWS.AccessKey.Rotation"
DisplayName: "AWS Access Key Rotation"
Enabled: true
ResourceTypes:
  - AWS.IAM.RootUser
  - AWS.IAM.User
Tags:
  - AWS
  - Identity & Access Management
  - Credential Access:Unsecured Credentials
Reports:
  CIS:
    - 1.4
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0006:T1552
Severity: Medium
Description: >
  This policy validates that AWS IAM account access keys are rotated every 90 days.
  Rotating access keys will reduce the window of opportunity for an access key that
  is associated with a compromised or terminated account to be used.
Runbook: >
  https://docs.runpanther.io/alert-runbooks/built-in-policies/aws-access-keys-rotated-every-90-days
Reference: >
  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_access-keys.html
Tests:
  - Name: Root User Access Key 1 Rotated Over 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: false
    Resource:
      {
        "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root",
            "AccessKey1Active": true,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "2000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": false,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": true,
            "PasswordEnabled": false,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "<root_account>",
          },
        "UserID": null,
        "UserName": "root",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }
  - Name: Root User Access Key 2 Rotated Less Than 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root",
            "AccessKey1Active": false,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": true,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "3000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": true,
            "PasswordEnabled": false,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "<root_account>",
          },
        "UserID": null,
        "UserName": "root",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }
  - Name: User Access Key 1 Rotated Less Than 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
            "AccessKey1Active": true,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "3000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": false,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": false,
            "PasswordEnabled": true,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "Bobert",
          },
        "Groups":
          [
            {
              "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:group/ExampleGroup",
              "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "GroupId": "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP",
              "GroupName": "ExampleGroup",
              "Path": "/",
            },
          ],
        "InlinePolicyNames": null,
        "ManagedPolicyNames": ["IAMUserChangePassword"],
        "PasswordLastUsed": null,
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundary": null,
        "Tags": null,
        "UserId": "ASDFASDFASDFASDF",
        "UserName": "Bobert",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }
  - Name: User Access Key 1 Rotated Over 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: false
    Resource:
      {
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
            "AccessKey1Active": true,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "2000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": false,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": false,
            "PasswordEnabled": true,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "Bobert",
          },
        "Groups":
          [
            {
              "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:group/ExampleGroup",
              "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "GroupId": "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP",
              "GroupName": "ExampleGroup",
              "Path": "/",
            },
          ],
        "InlinePolicyNames": null,
        "ManagedPolicyNames": ["IAMUserChangePassword"],
        "PasswordLastUsed": null,
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundary": null,
        "Tags": null,
        "UserId": "ASDFASDFASDFASDF",
        "UserName": "Bobert",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }
  - Name: User Access Key 2 Rotated Less Than 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
            "AccessKey1Active": false,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": true,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "3000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": false,
            "PasswordEnabled": true,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "Bobert",
          },
        "Groups":
          [
            {
              "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:group/ExampleGroup",
              "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "GroupId": "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP",
              "GroupName": "ExampleGroup",
              "Path": "/",
            },
          ],
        "InlinePolicyNames": null,
        "ManagedPolicyNames": ["IAMUserChangePassword"],
        "PasswordLastUsed": null,
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundary": null,
        "Tags": null,
        "UserId": "ASDFASDFASDFASDF",
        "UserName": "Bobert",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }
  - Name: User Access Key 2 Rotated Over 90 Days Ago
    ExpectedResult: false
    Resource:
      {
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
        "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "CredentialReport":
          {
            "ARN": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bobert",
            "AccessKey1Active": false,
            "AccessKey1LastRotated": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey1LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2Active": true,
            "AccessKey2LastRotated": "2000-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedDate": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedRegion": "N/A",
            "AccessKey2LastUsedService": "N/A",
            "Cert1Active": false,
            "Cert1LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "Cert2Active": false,
            "Cert2LastRotated": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "MfaActive": false,
            "PasswordEnabled": true,
            "PasswordLastChanged": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordLastUsed": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "PasswordNextRotation": "2019-04-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserCreationTime": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
            "UserName": "Bobert",
          },
        "Groups":
          [
            {
              "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:group/ExampleGroup",
              "CreateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
              "GroupId": "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP",
              "GroupName": "ExampleGroup",
              "Path": "/",
            },
          ],
        "InlinePolicyNames": null,
        "ManagedPolicyNames": ["IAMUserChangePassword"],
        "PasswordLastUsed": null,
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundary": null,
        "Tags": null,
        "UserId": "ASDFASDFASDFASDF",
        "UserName": "Bobert",
        "VirtualMFA": null,
      }

Detection logic

Condition

CredentialReport not is_null

This rule also runs imperative logic the parser cannot express as a filter; the conditions above are the structured part it could extract.

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`CredentialReport`	is_null	(no value, null check)

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)